Chief Executives, Finance Directors and Heads of Personnel have a duty to both their customers and shareholders to employ only honest and professionally competent staff. Screening staff before they are appointed is an integral part of this process and for many employers is a task best outsourced to an independent company dedicated to providing such a service.
 
   Senior management might also want to consider undertaking periodic verification checks upon current staff especially those in “trusted” positions responsible for managing company assets or those working in close proximity to children and vulnerable adults. The consequences for an employer which can arise from the actions of errant employees can be quite substantial not only financially and but also in terms of lost reputation in the market place.

   Senior management would be wise to insist that third party providers, especially in regard to outsourced support services, provide evidence that all staff with access to company asserts and data have been appropriately screened, especially as the responsibility of any inappropriate third party action will inevitably fall upon senior management of the parent company.

   Perhaps most worrying of all is the increasingly number of contract and temporary staff who enter company premises without first being screened. Their number is on the increase and there is nowadays a very strong case for senior management to request documentary evidence that all temporary and contract staff have been appropriately screened before they access an employer's assets and data. Simply signing a confidentiality letter is just not enough nowadays.